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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25883647">The Way to a Man's Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Risukage/pseuds/Risukage'>Risukage</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Estimeric Week: Shenanigans in Seven Parts [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Fluff, Food, M/M, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:08:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,096</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25883647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Risukage/pseuds/Risukage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This week we celebrate one of our favorite Heavensward pairings with Aymeric and Estinien. Hell yeah!! With one prompt a day, you all get seven little one-shots that range from fluffy sweet to super spicy! Enjoy your meal. ;)</p><p>Day 5 Prompt: Food</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aymeric de Borel/Estinien Wyrmblood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Estimeric Week: Shenanigans in Seven Parts [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873489</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Estimeric Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Way to a Man's Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>//Not much to say, this is just something so sweet it'll give you diabetes. :D//</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With a sigh of satisfaction, Aymeric finally sat up and stretched, then pressed soft kisses up Estinien’s back, from his hips to his neck, brushing aside silvery hair to kiss his cheek.  The other man was still sprawled out on his stomach, arms under a pillow that was under his cheek, making soft, happy sounds after being <em> thoroughly </em> and lovingly used a few minutes earlier.  His toes curled a little when Aymeric nibbled the tip of his ear, tracing gentle fingers along his hip, and he cracked an eye half-open at his lover.</p><p>“Already ready for more?  And I thought my stamina was impressive.”</p><p>Aymeric laughed softly and leaned down to give Estinien a kiss as the other man sat up enough to accept it.  “No, love, for as much as I would love to pleasure you all morning, we both have places to be.  Although…”  Making an inquisitive noise, Estinien stretched, catlike in the way he arched his back, and Aymeric laughed again.  “We have enough time for me to prepare breakfast.  If I can pry you from bed, that is.  You look like a very mellow cat.”  He chuckled and put a finger to his lips with a smile.  “Esti-nyan!”</p><p>The other man gave him an unamused look, and one could easily imagine ears folded back against his head and tail lashing in irritation.  However, the mention of breakfast had his attention, and Aymeric knew it.  “If you offer me tuna, Halone help you because-”</p><p>He was interrupted when Aymeric kissed him again before getting out of bed, retrieving his trousers.  “Of course not.  I was considering omelettes, and perhaps something else.”  Grabbing a shirt, he pulled it on over his head, leaving it loose and untucked, and he took a moment to bask in the look at that Estinien gave him; hungry and wanting, and completely possessive.</p><p>It was the dragoon’s turn to finally depart the bedsheets, and he put an arm around Aymeric’s waist to pull him close, biting a soft line up his neck and then along his ear.  “Well, standing around doesn’t get things done.”</p><p>Aymeric kissed him once more, giving him a playful swat on the bottom as he broke away and left the room, going to the kitchen and pulling out everything that would be needed to make something to eat.  A minute later Estinien joined him, having only put on trousers, and he looked around for something to do.  Knowing that idleness was not something to which the other man was given, Aymeric gestured toward the kettle.  “Could I bother you to prepare the tea?  I can use your assistance with other things once the water is started.”</p><p>As asked, Estinien filled the kettle and set it up to boil, then joined his companion and gave the kitchen counter a confused (and lost) look as he tried to figure out what went where.  “It would help greatly if you could cut this up for me,” Aymeric suggested, placing a few slices of ham nearby and offering him a knife (handle first, he had learned that one the hard way once!), and when Estinien gave the meat a quizzical look and held it in place while he brought in the knife to slice, Aymeric gasped and took his wrist.  “Ah!  You’d have cut yourself doing it like that.”</p><p>Blushing and looking away, Estinien didn’t reply, and Aymeric sighed fondly and hugged him from behind.  “I am not scolding you, love, I was worried for your safety.  I didn’t know that you hadn’t sliced things like that before.  Here, let me show you, please.”  By wording it like that he helped bypass his lover’s ego and appealed to his desire to learn and help.  Still standing behind him, Aymeric demonstrated how to hold what he was cutting so that he wouldn’t slice himself, then how to hold the knife and the direction in which to cut.  His hands over the other man’s, he slowly guided him through the motions to give him the feel for it, then let him do it himself.  After a couple of somewhat clumsy slices, Estinien got the hang of it, and smiled a little to himself.  This small expression of satisfaction and contentment left butterflies in Aymeric’s stomach, and he kissed Estinien’s cheek as he reached for the eggs, pushing a bowl of vegetables in Estinien’s direction.</p><p>"You’ve got it, love, here, if you could do the same with these as well, that would make this go much faster.”  He knew that the only things in which Estinien found joy were killing dragons and eating decent food, and if he could perhaps channel a bit of one to the other he might make a decent cook out of him.  Deftly he cracked an egg with one hand into a bowl, discarding the shell into another, and a pleased blush rose in his cheeks when he saw Estinien watching him with fascination.  He cracked a second one and smiled at the other man.  “Am I truly that captivating?”</p><p>“Yes,” Estinien replied automatically, then blushed a little as well and turned back to cutting up the ham.  “Er, that is...it reminds me of how mother did it, I was always amazed that she could do that without making a mess and…  And…”  His voice cracked as his shoulders grew stiff, and his grip on the knife tightened.  Aymeric saw Estinien biting his lip hard enough to almost draw blood, leaning forward so that his hair obscured his face, and the knight knew he was trying to hide tears.</p><p>Without a word, he hugged him from behind once more, supportive but silent, giving Estinien the time to work through and then control his emotions.  He heard a gentle sob, little more than a gasp as Estinien’s body shook with the effort of trying to hold it back.  It was all Aymeric could do to not join him in tears as well; he knew of the dragoon’s past and of Ferndale, and Estinien never talked of it or his family.  However, now and then, moments like this would happen, where he would let slip something, and he would shatter into pieces for a few minutes.  Knowing this, Aymeric simply held him as he always did, giving him the permission to be weak but being the armor that Estinien needed to feel safe.</p><p>After a minute Estinien let out a ragged breath that he had been holding.  “...Thank you,” he whispered, and put down the knife to scrub the back of his wrist across his eyes.</p><p>Aymeric turned him around to face each other, holding the dragoon’s face in his hands and brushing away tears with his thumbs.  The ones he missed he kissed away, pressing one last one to Estinien’s forehead.  “Never be ashamed of your tears, love, they represent the pain that you carry deep inside.  With each one you shed you lessen your burden and ease the suffering that consumes you.  That you trust me to be there for you when you hurt your worst is an honor, and I will do all that I can to be worthy of it.”</p><p>Nodding, Estinien hugged him, burying his face in Aymeric’s shirt for a moment, then sniffed and turned his attention back to their still-unprepared breakfast.  “So, the vegetables, they are cut the same way as the meat?”</p><p>The obvious change of subject didn’t bother Aymeric, rather, he was glad to help distract, and instructed his companion in the correct way to prepare the next section, leaving him free to finish cracking enough eggs and find a whisk.  Adding pepper, salt, and several other spices to the bowl, he briskly mixed it all together and set it aside.  “Ah, lovely, thank you,” he smiled, as Estinien had just finished his own task, “here, I'll pour that in the bowl with the eggs, and then I can get started on-  Ah!”  The kettle was now boiling, and Aymeric gestured toward a teapot and cups.  “Pour a bit of water in the teapot to warm it up, then discard it before you add the leaves.”</p><p>Slightly confused, Estinien did as asked, then looked into the jar of tea.  He glanced at the teapot, clearly doing mental math and coming up with an answer he knew wasn’t right.  Trying not to embarrass him when he was trying to help out, Aymeric gasped as though he had just remembered something.  “You’ll only need two scoops, provided I left it in the tin there, if I didn’t I’ll-”</p><p>“It’s in there,” was the reply, and Aymeric suppressed a chuckle at the relief he heard in the other man’s voice.  The warming-water was dumped, tea was added, and then more water, and Estinien looked into the teapot quizzically before putting the lid on, somewhat baffled that it was actually that easy, then joined Aymeric at the stove.</p><p>The knight was stirring the omelette mix one last time before pouring half of it out in a circle in the middle of a hot pan.  Standing next to him, still catlike, Estinien watched the entire process with fascination, making small sounds of interest when Aymeric did something, as though he were finally figuring out how it all worked and why.  “Plate?” asked Aymeric, realizing that he’d not grabbed any, and Estinien took a moment to realize that the question, and therefore the request, was directed at him.  Two cupboards later he found the one with plates in it, and handed one over, upon which was set a fresh, hot omelette.  “Go and take that and the tea to the table, love, I’ll be done with the next one in just a moment.”</p><p>The second one took the rest of the mix, and when it was finished Aymeric plated it as well, somewhat expecting Estinien to have devoured most if not all of his own.  To his delighted surprise, Estinien had not only waited, but pulled out the cream and birch syrup for the tea, as well as the bread and jam from the pantry.  Joining him, Aymeric sat down and took a slice of bread, but before he could get a cup Estinien poured one for him.  Another warm blush crept over his cheeks at the silent gesture of affection, and he added his usual drop of syrup and bit of cream to his tea, then a thin layer of jam on the toast.  It wasn’t until he cut off a slice of his own omelette that Estinien tucked hungrily into his own, apparently waiting for Aymeric to start, so as not to be rude or greedy.  However, after the first bite he couldn’t hold himself back, and finished the entire thing in minutes.  He put down his fork and reached for the bread, then saw Aymeric’s smile and crimsoned to his ear-tips.</p><p>Chuckling happily, Aymeric waved at him to be at ease as he picked up his tea and took a sip.  “Have you any idea what a compliment that is?  To have someone be so patient when they want to eat so badly, and then enjoy it as much as you did?  You are exactly what any cook will ask for.”</p><p>Estinien smiled at last, finally taking the bread and jam.  “I guess you’ll have to cook for me more often,” he said, softly and almost shyly, “since you don’t seem to like to cook for yourself, and Lucia has been getting on your case lately about you not eating or sleeping enough.”</p><p>“...You would stay more often?” whispered Aymeric, “I…  I would not ask you of anything that takes you away from your travels or your mission-”</p><p>“Ishgard needs you.  So...I suppose...that it would be my mission to stay more…” He hid his embarrassment by chugging his tea in one gulp, and reached for the teapot to pour more.</p><p>Before he could pick it up, however, Aymeric put his hand over his companion’s, his smile touching his eyes and making the blue even brighter.  “I would treasure every minute that you would give to me, and give you all that you ask for.”</p><p>Estinien blushed again, unaccustomed to the open devotion but still pleased by it.  “...Are there seconds on that omelette?...”</p><p>With delighted laughter, Aymeric stood up, still holding Estinien’s hand.  “Of course!  Business can wait just a little while longer.”</p><p>With a grin that almost had fangs, Estinien growled and hugged his lover firmly, nibbling his neck and enjoying the happy gasps they produced.  “It seems that I’m being a bad influence, Lucia will most definitely approve.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>//If for whatever reason you think I'm interesting, I am the <a href="http://randomsquirrel.tumblr.com">Random Squirrel</a> on Tumblr and <a href="https://twitter.com/L33tSquirrel">L33t Squirrel</a> on Twitter. Contains reblogs of things I think are interesting and random acts of shitposting.</p><p>And if you want even more intersting (and often better!) stuff, and enjoy both reading and writing fanfiction, come join us over at <a href="https://discord.gg/enabling-debauched-xivfic">Emet Selch's Wholesomely Debauched &amp; Enabling Book Club</a>. We're mostly focused on FFXIV but we have writers and readers from many fandoms and are there to not only read and write some great stuff, but hype each other up to do so, because darn it, fanfiction just doesn't get the love that it deserves! And be sure to leave kudos and comments for the people you read, too! Writers need that validation to keep making delicious, free content, all they ask to be paid in is your adoration. ;)//</p></blockquote></div></div>
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